Tobacco stemming and booking machine.



J. T, MOGLGSKEY. TOBACCO STEMMING AND BOOKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1914.

1,1 16,719., Patented N0v.10,1914.

3 SHEETS--SHEET1.

J. T. MOGLOSKEY.

'romooo STEMMING AND BOOKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1914.

Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

Mantis-sum a.

- are left in the stemming operation and therevention reference is made to the accompanyportion of one of the tracks over which it rrnn s'rnrns JOHN T. MGCLOSKEY, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

TOBACCO STEMMING AND BOOKING MACHINE.

Specification of mimic.

Letters Patent Patented Nov. 10, 1914.

Application filed June 8, 1914. Serial No. 843,638.

To all whom it may concern:

Be'itknown that 1, JOHN T. MoGnosKnY; a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco Stemming and Booking Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention; such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification! v This invention relates to improvements in machines for stemming and booking tobacco.

The object of'the invention is to provide a form of mechanism which reduces to a minimumthe risks run by the operator in stemming and booking tobacco. It is well-known by those familiar with this work that the operatives are usually girls or women and their lack of adeptness in handling machinery often exposes them to more or less danger, it being a common thing for them to lose a finger or fingers of one or the other hand or otherwise injure the hand in manipulatinga machine, To obviate these dangers and to make the work of stemming and booking tobacco comparatively safe for these inexperienced operatives is the principal object of the invention.

A further object is to provide a machlne that is not only safe, but which in addition to stemming thetobacco leaves also books said leaves upon the table'upon which they fore greatly economizes thework of handling tobacco. All parts that are likely to endanger the operatives are eliminated. The machine stems and'books the tobacco in one operation and leaves the tobacco ready for use.

Preceding a detail description of the in ing drawings of which- Figure 1 IS a top plan view of my improved tobacco stemming and booking machine; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional elevation of the machine on the line a-a of Fig-1.; Fig. 3 is a side elevation. of the machine partly in section with parts broken away; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the carriage and a travels back and forth in the operation of stemming the tobacco; Fig. 5 is a detail view of the ratchet devices for lowering the work tables for each successive stemming and booking operation; Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the knives and their adjustable supporting means. i

In the specification and drawings, similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts.

The frame work of the machine may vary; it is here shown to comprise side supporting members 1 and upper horizontal members 2 united to the side members 1 and also a cross bar 13.

3'3 represents two horizontal parallel stemming knives held a suitable distance apart by distance pieces 4 and supported upon yoke supports 5 through which adj usting screws 6 pass. These adjusting screws 6 engage the distance pieces and maintain the knives in a proper operative position. A work table consisting of two sections 77, one of which is mounted on each side of the 'knives is provided for booking and supporting the tobacco. These table sections 77 aresupported upon aprons 8 and are subject to vertical movement through guides 9 on said aprons which are received by guides 1Q depended from the knives 33 and attached to the sides of said knives near the ends thereof. This sectional table receives the stemmed tobacco upon which it is.

ing provided with bearings in the cross bar- 13. The lower ends of said screws 11 have fixed to them'bcvel gears 14; which mesh with similar gears 15 on a transverse shaft 16 j ournaled in bearings 61 depending from the cross bar 13 said shaft 16 being provided with a crank 59 by means of whichit is rotated to initially elevate the tables 7-7 into a working osition relative to the other parts of the macliine to be described. Mounted above the sectional table and parallel therewith are two clamping wings 26--26 which are adapted to hold the leaves of tobacco in position over the edges of the knives and against the tables 7-7. These wings are attached to parallel shafts 28 arranged at the op osite longitudinal sides of the frame of 1; ie machine in bearings 30 and are.

normally held in upright positions as shown in the dotted position in Fig. 2. The said wings are so held by springs 29 which are coiled about shafts 28 and are so arranged as to exert an upward force upon the said wings to hold them in such elevated posi-* tions. The said clamping wings "are maintained in their lowered positions, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, by means of crank arms 32 fixed to the ends of the shafts 28 and to which are connected rods 33 extending down and connecting wi .11 a common foot treadle 34 supported upon a shaft'25 mounted in the lower portion of the frame work of the machine.

As shown in Fig. 1, the clamping wings 26 have portions thereof cut away as at 27 to provide spaces for the arms of the operator to rest upon while the work of stemming and booking the tobacco proceeds. In advance of the clamping wings 26 are arranged two clamping bars 17 also above the work tables 7-7 and which initially engage the pointed ends of the tobacco leaves and hold the same in position while the hands of the operator spread the remaining parts of the leaves upon the tables 77 and before the clamping' wings 26 are. lowered upon the other portions of the leaves. One of these clamping bars 1? lies on each side of the knives 33 and ends thereof are fixedly attached to a shaft 18 mounted in bearings 19 on the frame of the machine. The lower sides of said clamping bars 17 are provided withrubber tips 20 the purpose of which is to insure a proper engagement with the tobacco leaves after the same have been placed in position over the knives 3-3. The position of each tobacco leaf is such that the rib or stem thereof lies over the space between .the knives so that when the leaf is cut thestem or rib removed therefrom through the cuttin o )eration falls within a rece tacle a l a P treadle 34 on the shaft 35.

60 mounted on the frame-work of the machine. The initial clamps 1' 7.-.17 are normally held in the lower position,-'as shown in Fig. 3, by a coil spring 22 one end. of which is attachedto a crank arm 21 fixed to the shaft 18 and theother end of which is attached to a suitable part ofthe framework of the machine as is clearly shown in Fig. 3. The crank arm 21 isoonnectod with the rod 23 which extends. dbwnj .1to, -;a 00tt-readle 24 mounted adjacent' -toif thfiii,

The foot-.treadle 24 is manipulated each time a tobacco leaf is placed in position on the tables 7- -7 and over the knives 33 .to raise the clamps" 17-17 from the position shownin Fig. 3.

This position, it will be understood, is the position-in which the clamps 17-47 are when they are initially holding the ends of the tobacco leaves in POSitlGII. to be spread upon. the tables. Cutting rollers 35, of which there are two, travel over the longi-'- tudinal edges'of the knives 33. ..;These' rollers are journaled in a frame 36 fromf which extend pins 37 through a frame 38 the latter frame being mounted upon a cross bar 39 which lies between and is connected to two roller carriages 41. The stems 37 of the rollers 35 are provided with coil springs 40 which exert a pressure to maintain the said rollers in proper position above the knives. WVhile I have shown two such rollers 35, a single roller may serve the purpose, two rollers, however, being preferable. The carriages 41 to which the roller bar 39 is attached is provided with rollers 42 which move horizontally on lower tracks 43 said tracks havinggrooves 62 in which the roll ers 42 fit. The tracks 43 are mounted on the upper portion of the frame at each side of the machine and above said tracks 43 are upper parallel tracks 44 which are united to the lower tracks 43 by end posts 45. These upper tracks 44 are alining tracks for the roller carriages and upper guide rollers 48 engage said upper tracks. The guide rollers 46 are mounted upon stems 47 in bearings 48 and a spring 49 exerts force to maintain said rollers 46 in proper engagement with the upper tracks. Attached to the median portion of the cross bar 39, which as before stated is united at its ends to the roller carriages 41, is a link 51 pivotally united to the cross bar 39 by means of a pivot-extending through apertured cars 50 united to said cross bar. This cross bar 39, it will be borne in mind, supports the rollers 35 which move over the edges of the knives 33 and stem the tobacco leaves. The connecting link 51 is pivoted at '52 to an an ular lever 53 which extends down and is fixe 1y united to'a shaft 54 journaled in the upright side members 1-1 of the frame. Also united to the shaft 54 on. one side of the frame and adjacent to the lever 53 is an operating lever 55 by means of which the shaft 54 is rotated sufficiently to cause the lever 53 and the connecting link 51 to move the roller carriages over the tracks 43 and therewith the stemming rollers 35 the length of the knives 33. This operation severs the stems from the tobacco leaves and allows the leaves to book uponthe tables 7-7 while the stems, as before stated, fall through the space between the knives into the receptacle 60. The return movement of the operating lever 55 lowers the tables 7,7 a distance corresponding approximately to the thickness of a leaf of tobacco iii order to prepare said tables for each succeeding leaf to be stemmed and booked. This table-lowering meal. is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5 and consists of a ratchet pawl 56 which isslidably mounted on the inner side of the lever 55 in a position tov engage the ratchet wheel 57 which .is fixed to the shaft 16. The said pawl 56 drops into the teeth of the ratchet 57 by arrears a The pawl is provided with at slightly 56. When the operating lever 55 is moved back to the position shown in Fig. 3, this operation of the shaft l6takes place to lower the tables 7-7 as hereinbefore stated.

Briefly describing the operation of the machine, reference 'is made to Fig. 1. The operator sits in front of the table and applies the tobacco leaves to the tables 77 with the stems thereof over the knives 3-3. At this time the wings 2626 are elevated by the action of the springs 29 and the clamping bars 17 17 are elevated by the operators foot pressing upon the treadle 24. After the leaf has been placed in position. with the pointed end thereof under the clamps 1717, the foot is removed from the treadle 24: and the spring 22 draws the clamps l717 down against the end of the leaf. The remaining portion of the leaf is then spread out by the hands of the operator and foot pressure is applied to the foot treadle 34: to lower the clamping Wings 26-26 upon the leaf thus spread out upon the tables 77. The hand of the operator then grasps the lever 55 and moves it forward to cause the cutting rollers 35 to moveover that ortion of the leaf immediately above the e gas of the knife. This operation being performed, the lever 55 is returned to its normal position and the-tables ?7.. are lowered sufficiently to permit of the next leaf being placed in position for stemming and booking and this operation is continued until the tables receive a full supply of tobacco stemmed and booked.

While I have with some minuteness described various details of construction, I do not Wish to limit myself to any detail which may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. it will also be apparent that the reciprocable stemming mechanism may be operated by power as well as manually, and that automatic means may be employed to lower the tables 7-7 at the completion of every operation of the shaft 54:; and other details may be varied without departing from the spirit and underlying principles of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim.

1. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a table for supporting tobacco leaves, and means for elevating the same, of knives arranged centrally of said There is also pivoted to the frame of.

table and parallel thereto,- and between which the stems of the tobacco leaves lie, and clamping members one hinged on each side of the lmives adjacent to the front end thereof and arranged to hold the point 41 ends of the tobacco leaves in position while said leaves are being spread upon the table. 2. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a table upon which tobacco leaves to be stemmed and booked re placed, and means for elevating said table, of knives arranged centrally relative to said table and between which the stems of the tobacco leaves lie, clamping devices compris ing hinged plates arranged to initially hold said leaves in such position, a cutting roller adapted to move over knives to cut as stems from the tobacco leaves, opposite-l ranged carriages upon which said roller carried, and means for actuating said riage to so move the roller over the lmives.

3. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a table consisting efi, two sections upon which tobacco leaves stemmed and hooked, of knives arranged between said table sections and between which the stems of the tobacco leaves lie, hinged clamping members arranged to int tially hold the pointed ends of the tobacco leaves firmly against said table sections. clamping wings arranged to subsequent engage the leaves on the sidesof the imiv to hold them against the table sections, a cutting roller adapted to move over said knives-to sever the stems from the leaves.

4. In a machine of the character specified,

the combination with a table comprising two sections upon which the tobacco leaves "we supported during the stemming operation and upon which the stemmed leaves 1 packed or booked, and means for adjusting said table verticallv, of knives arrar e allel with said table and centrallg f means for adjusting the position knives, initial clam ing members arranged a to clamp the ends of the tobacco leaves upon said table over said knives, said in 'al clamping members being stationary r tively to the pointed ends of said leaves, clamping wings adapted to subsequentiy 1016. the leaves against the table during the operation of stemming, and pack or book the stemmed leaves on said table.

In testimony whereof I ailix my sigiiature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN MoCLGSKEY. 

